The song instantly put me in mind of the summer of 1965, eleven-year-old me running down the beach at San Clemente pier. Every other beach blanket had a transistor radio, and every radio was tuned to channel 98, KFWB, playing Help Me, Rhonda. Ah, California.

Throw in Glenn Campbell* (while we can (sigh!), who toured with them and did vocal and instrumentals in studio) and you're there.

The Beach Boys are the ne plus ultra of California, when California was still the end of the rainbow.

Tyrone Slothrop said...

The song instantly put me in mind of the summer of 1965, eleven-year-old me running down the beach at San Clemente pier. Every other beach blanket had a transistor radio, and every radio was tuned to channel 98, KFWB, playing Help Me, Rhonda. Ah, California

Spring of '65, actually, but, yeah, even right outside of Philadelphia (of course, we had the Jersey Shore (we could have gone down to Rehoboth, too, to see her, but Ann had already left)), I know what you mean.

* He was an unofficial Beach Boy and Kingston Trio member in the early to mid-60s.

And I think this commenter on the NPR thread is exaggerating any similarity.

Charles Forssi (CharlesForssi) wrote:This new song sounds like the theme to "Midnight Cowboy" written by the late-great John Barry. The melody line is a total copy. Brian Wilson must have recently watched that movie or heard it on the radio when he was writing this.

I'll be rockin' Stadium of Fire on July 4th with the Beach Boys in Provo Utah! Can't wait. I didn't know they were going to have a new release. I really like it. My husband said it sounds like it was released in the 60's. I don't detect much difference in their sound from the summers in the 60's that I remember so well. Be True to Your School!

Might have hung around AZ another day or two if I had known. Did play an entire album of theirs on the way up, and have it keyed to #16 (California Girls) for someone who is supposed to visit this month (and, yes, she is kinda still blond, and grew up there, but on the snow instead of surf).

Made their 25th reunion tour at Red Rocks west of Denver. Great place for that sort of concert. That would be, what, 25 years ago now? Makes sense, because I went with my now ex, whom I thought would have been too young for their music.

Back when I started surfing in the early 1960's surfers didn't listen to the Beach Boys. We listened to Bud Shank, et al. The early surfing movies were scored with west coast jazz. Never will I forget the opening moments of "Have Guns, Will Travel" a surfing movie (big wave surfboards are called 'guns') when the blaring horns of bootlegged Peter Gunn came blasting out of the speakers as a surfer charged across the face of big Wiamea. Blew the roof right off of that Woman's Club. Place went beserk.

Like the Beatles' We Can Work It Out, I always thought God Only Knows worked better as a song if I thought of the singer directing it towards a more general audience rather than just a boy to his girl.

I'll stick with my memories of the Beach Boys of my youth, who were already coming up in years, I much prefer that to the continued manipulation of Brian Wilson that borders on elder abuse, as well as the over produced, software enhanced dreck linked to above. This tour is gonna be a soundboard jockey's wet dream. I guess they needed a "hit" to motivate the tour. That's Why God Made The Radio? Really? Who comes up with an asinine title like that? The Ghosts of Tin Pan Alley are howling in pain.

Brian Wilson was a consumate pop stylist, not a "musical genius." This doesn't detract from his greatness in the pantheon of rock 'n' roll, by any means, but the whole "tortured musical genius" thing gets pretty old.

My wife and I used to go to the free concerts they have at the State Fair (when she would still go with me. Since the infamous parking incident of 04' she won't anymore). Got to see Bobby Vinton, and Bobby Vee, the Shirelles, the Coasters...etc. I imagine it won't be too long before the Beachboys will be available.

I found the song okay, but forgettable, like most of their work. But that's why they make chocolate and vanilla.

To me the Beach Boys are always boys. When I listen to their music it's always summer of 1968. Even the new song is right there with me. It's beautiful because it makes me happy. It takes me to a happy and exciting time in my life. Whether it's wheezy, or trite, or whether the singers were tortured or not is not part of it. It's the moment, now or then or somewhere in time. It's musical time travel. I get it with the Beach Boys,the Association, the Beatles, the Doors... I just get it. I hope everyone has something like it in their lives. It's a beautiful part of living.

I absolutely LOVE this song "That's Why God Made The Radio." Such a wonderful way to pay tribute to the days when listening to radio really was a simple pleasure. The music of the Beach Boys got me through many a cold Ohio winter, and fuelled my dreams of moving to sunny Southern California. I did move there for ten years and lived the Dream. Yes, I played the BB a lot...much to my ex-husband's annoyance (he was more about the Beatles.) Anyway, I'm planning to buy two copies of the album when it's released: one for me and one to introduce the BB to my 6 year old grandson. My daugher is already a fan hee hee. Why do I love the BB so much? Because no matter how bad things may seem nowadays, I figure I can put on that mp3 or CD and get that "love and sunshine" boost that makes us all so happy. God bless the Beach Boys. Their music will always be a part of the 'soundtrack of my life!'